The National Youth Music Theatre has closed and all its staff has been
paid off.

The decision to close the company was made by its board because of
major financial problems which have been growing since Andrew Lloyd
Webber's sponsorship ended four years ago. However the company is not
being wound up and the board hopes to be able to come to an accommodation
with its creditors which will allow it to resume its work to get out
of the current financial difficulty.

The company's chair, Maggie Semple, told The Stage newspaper that the
company would have started trading insolvently if they had not taken
immediate action.

The company had been working on reducing costs for some time and it
is understood that there has been some dissension between the staff
and the board, and within the board itself, over the direction which
the company should take.